Passion's Rhythm
by Angel of Mercy
Summary: Co-written with Priscilla! A/U What happens when a young woman meets the man who is supposed to be the one, but passion's rhythm dictates otherwise. Will she cave to duty or follow her heart?
1. Default Chapter

Passion's Rhythm

By

Angel of Mercy and Priscilla

Disclaimer: We don't own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing though we do have our eyes on the cute bishies that are in the story. Well, we would if we didn't think that Rei would kick our butts with her high heels for looking at her man.

A/N: # Priscilla #: This is completely AU and mainly A-chan's brainchild. I'm honored to be lending a helping hand when needed. ^_^

***~**A-chan**~***-  My thanks is mostly to Cilla-chan for this prologue.  This whole page was written by her pure talent and all the credit should go to her…  *looks around atimpatient readers*…so on with the fic!  *.*()

Dedication: A-chan for having such a wonderfully fertile and vivid mind that just keeps coming up with all of these wonderful fic ideas!

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"We are now approaching Valencia International Airport. (A/N: I have no idea of what Spain's airport is called.) Please fasten your seatbelts and return your tray and seats to the upright position. The No Smoking sign is on," came the cheery feminine voice over the airplane speaker system.

Rei Hino sighed softly, her breath stirring the wispy bangs lying across her forehead. She leaned her forehead against the window and let her violet gaze wander over the city lights, unmindful of the beautiful sight before her. Her mind wandered back to the circumstances that had her leaving her beloved native country of Japan and flying halfway around the world to a country that she had no interest in nor anyone familiar to her. Her eyes slowly shut as she recalled the events of the last week.

FLASHBACK

She knelt in front of a blazing fire; her feet tucked neatly under her and her eyes closed in deep concentration. She could feel the flames come close to licking at her long hair, which was whipping wildly around her in the breeze that came through the thin rice paper doors, but she felt no fear. The fire was her friend. It always had been and it always would be. It sang to her in tones no one else could hear, a song meant only for her. The flame's song flowed through her veins, energizing her yet soothing her as well. She felt it go through her, filling her, lifting her, and then abruptly, leaving her as she heard the distant echo of her ojii-san's voice break through the veil of her concentration. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking slightly at the light that shone brightly from behind the opened doors of the Fire Room. Her eyes slowly focused on the shadowy form standing in front of the doors and her gaze softened as she noticed her wizened ojii-san standing before her, a look of concern etched across his normally beaming, wrinkled face.

"Ojii-san, what's wrong? You have such a serious look on your face. It doesn't become you at all," Rei gently teased, hoping to lift the unusually gloomy look from his face. She frowned as he continued to study her face intently and then suddenly, his shoulders slumped in resignation, his temple robes looking too large for his slight frame.

"Rei-chan, it's not easy for me to tell you this, but I think you'll take it better coming from me rather than your otou-san," the wrinkled man said, an uneasy look crossing his face and making him seem older than he was.

"What does my otou-san have to do with anything," Rei asked, her brows knitting together in the faint stirrings of anger. She couldn't help but feel angry at the mention of the man who had abandoned her, seeing her only when it suited him. "I don't have to go live with him, do I?" Panic began to tinge her normally mellow voice as she thought of the possibility of leaving the only family who had ever really cared for her.

"Iie, iie. It's not about living with him," he sighed softly. He slowly walked over to her and knelt across from her, his hands settling against his knees. He seemed deep in thought for a moment, gathering his thoughts before he spoke again. "Before you were born, when your otou-san was nothing more than a minor presence in the government, still climbing the ladder of politics within the Diet, your parents were friends with some diplomats from Spain, the de la Garzas. Your mother became especially good friends with the diplomat's wife, Kyoko, a Japanese native who married while abroad, and they did everything together, eventually becoming best friends and confidantes. This was a good time in your parents' life. They were both very happy and young and in love. The diplomats had a young son, named Mamoru who was around 5 years old, and your mother doted on him. When she discovered that she was pregnant with you, she and Kyoko thought it would be a wonderful idea if the two of you married when you became older, joining the two families in friendship and blood. Unfortunately, your mother died shortly after your birth and the de la Garzas were assigned back to Spain not too long after that. I don't think any of us thought too much about the wishful thinking of two young women so long ago. We didn't until recently, that is," Grandpa Hino said softly. He looked up at his beloved granddaughter and inwardly winced when he saw her dazed expression.

"What happened recently and how does this affect me," Rei murmured, her mind reeling with the shock and wonder of hearing her ojii-san mention her okaa-san after so many years. She knew that her ojii-san was her otou-san's father, but he had loved his daughter-in-law very much, as much as if she had been of his own flesh and blood. He hadn't spoken of her okaa-san often, only remarking occasionally on how much Rei resembled her. She had a burning curiosity when it came to her okaa-san and she hoarded the precious bits of information she gleaned from her ojii-san whenever he did mention her.

"Kyoko de la Garza died recently and in her will she stated that she wanted the agreement between her and your mother to be honored by the both of you, Mamoru and yourself. Basically, she wants the two of you to be married," her ojii-san stated flatly, his small dark eyes unhappy as he witnessed the shock dawning on his granddaughter's face as his words slowly sank in.

"Nani? That's archaic! No one has arranged marriages anymore! I've never even met this man! I don't know anything about him except my okaa-san used to think he was cute and spoiled him and that he's five years older than I am! What if I was in love with someone else? Would I be expected to break up with them to marry a complete stranger," Rei yelled, her voice rising higher and higher as anger set in, bringing a flush to her cheeks. Her hands twisted in agitation, the pale fingers clasped together desperately in order to keep from doing something physically violent. Her deep purple eyes roiled with anger, sparks of lighter violet flashing in the dark depths.

"I don't think either one of you would be expected to honor the agreement if one of you was already attached to someone else. However, neither one of you is in a relationship right now nor are you too young to be married. I have worried about you, Rei-chan. I'm not getting any younger and I don't like the thought of you having to manage the temple on your own or giving up on having a life for it. I want you to be happy," Grandfather Hino said, his voice strengthening with his conviction. Rei's stubbornness could be fully traced back to him and currently his chin jutted out in the familiar look of someone who was used to butting heads. 

"Demo, how can you expect me to leave you to take care of the temple all by yourself," Rei asked desperately, her fists clenched tightly at her knees and her gaze fixed unswervingly upon the polished wooden floor in front of her. She could hear the tone of command beneath his words and she sought to find some way to convince him that her place was by his side, not several thousand miles away in a foreign and unfamiliar country as the bride of some unknown man.

"I won't be alone. I have decided to retire to the main shrine in Nagoya. I am getting old and my bones need to rest. I need to know you will be settled and looked after. Will it be so hard to be married to a man from a good family? They are rich and I remember them as friendly and well-mannered," the old man cajoled, his heart breaking silently in his old chest. He had not wanted to do this, to lie to his only grandchild. He had been strong-armed by his own son, warned that if he did not cooperate his son would dissolve Rei's inheritance and disown her, leaving her penniless. He knew if Takashi approached Rei with his ultimatum of her either marrying or being disowned, Rei would choose to be disowned on sheer principle. He watched her intently, his dark eyes seeing her internal struggle. He decided to offer one last bit of persuasion to see if he could convince her to accept the situation. "Your okaa-san wanted this union very much, Rei-chan. If she were still alive, she would encourage you to marry Mamoru. In fact, I am so sure of this that I will offer you one possibility of returning."

"What is it," Rei asked, her voice tentative and unsure. She watched the old man struggle with his words and observed him carefully. Her heart clenched as she noticed how small and frail he seemed. 'I'm being selfish. All he wants is for me to be secure and happy and he won't retire until I am. I'm keeping him from his well-deserved rest. Just because I don't want to leave or have things change doesn't mean that he feels the same way. He looks so tired. Maybe I should listen to him. After all, my okaa-san would never have wanted me to marry someone she thought was unsuitable,' Rei thought miserably, feeling guilty for not noticing how old her ojii-san was getting.

"Go to Spain. See this Mamoru and get to know him better. If after 3 months you still cannot bring yourself to marry him or he is absolutely unsuitable, you can return here and neither your otou-san nor I will prevent you from coming home. Instead, we will pay for your ticket back to Japan," he promised brashly, hoping his son would agree to the idea. He did not worry too much for he had a feeling that Rei would meet her soul mate in Spain. He had stayed up for most of the night in front of the Sacred Fire and the omens he had seen were very fortuitous. Hino Masahiro had not gotten to the ripe old age of 70 without knowing when to bet on a sure thing.

END FLASHBACK

            So it came to be that Hino Rei found herself on a plane bound for Spain, to discover if Marco Enrique Raphael Mamoru Chiba y de la Garza would be the man she would marry. She had been listening to Spanish language tapes ever since she had agreed to her ojii-san's offer and had managed to master quite a bit of it, to her unending surprise. She took a deep breath as she felt the plane begin to descend and watched as the runway lights flashed, bringing her one step closer to her possible future. 'I'm just humoring ojii-san. There's no way that I can fall in love with someone that I've never met and be expected to marry him just like that. I'll just treat this whole trip like it's a 3-month vacation. I'll be back in Japan a minute after the last day of the third month,' Rei thought confidently.

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            Rei looked around the bustling airport of the metropolitan city, hoping to see someone who looked like they would be waiting to pick her up. She sighed as no one fit the description she had in her head. The wait had been long to get off the plane and even longer as she had gotten her luggage and stood impatiently as she went through customs, her bags being opened and searched under the hawk-like gaze of a portly woman with a stern face. 'This is just great. I've been here for what seems like hours and still no sign of anyone to pick me up. Well, supposed fiancé or not, this is one black mark that is going to be pretty hard to get rid of. I won't have a hard time turning down this loser,' Rei thought gleefully, mentally rubbing her hands and anticipating the look on her otou-san's face when she came back home and threw his wedding dictate in his face. She felt a hand tap her on the shoulder, breaking into her thoughts. She was in the middle of whirling around to face the unseen stranger when she heard a smooth voice say in fluent Japanese, "Hino Rei, I presume?" She looked up at the source of the voice and gasped as she looked into the most handsome face she had ever seen in her life.

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A/N: Ohohohohohohohoho! Sorry about that, but I love cliffhangers and I want A-chan to have fun with the next chapter! Who is the mystery man? Hmmmm, you'll have to wait and see. I promise lots of goodness to come. Take it away, A-chan!


	2. Chapter 1

Passion's Rhythm

By: Priscilla and Angel of Mercy

Chapter 1

~*A-chan*~ Thanks to Cilla-chan for writing this with me and to all the reviewers!  *lowers voice as spooky music plays*  Beware Rei's broom…it has already gotten Cilla-chan one time to many.

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A billion thoughts ran through her head as she stared up at the man in front of her.  His frame was only a few inches from her own and the smell of his cologne made her knees weak.  His sensual lips moved, but his voice went def in her ears as she felt herself lost.  His deep blue eyes were so alluring and never once had she felt this way for any of the men back in Japan.  This all seemed like one of the sappy romance novels with true love, but Rei didn't really seem to mind at the moment.  She usually was repulsed and disgusted when any man even looked at her for even more than a minute.  She felt a light tap on her cheek and was suddenly drawn from her thoughts as she looked up at the man.  His raven hair billowed in the slight breeze and his deep voice captured her attention once again.

"Rei Hino?" he asked smoothly as he cocked an eyebrow in question.  Rei felt her cheeks flush slightly at his sudden grin and nodded curtly in answer.  Her throat seemed to be clench in nervousness, but soon was able to say something to him.

"Hai…" she croaked out as he continued to look upon her passionately.  He looked down at a piece of paper in his hand for a moment before nodding.  He smiled seductively at her for a moment before walking close enough to touch her.  His eyes began to wonder her body and Rei felt her cheeks growing hot at the sudden intrusion of this stranger.  She felt her arms covering her chest slowly and turned her nose into the air to give this man no pleasure.  

"A stubborn one, eh?" he drawled on as his strong hand encased her chin.  He forced her head roughly to face him and Rei immediately felt a pang of fear as his eyes flashed dangerously.  Anger fueled deep within her, but she wouldn't allow herself to release it on this man.  These feelings startled her and she let herself be released as he circled around her.  Her eyes lowered to the ground as he watched her intently and his eyes fed upon her hungrily.

"Stop it." She finally spat out as she looked up at him defiantly.  He raised a fine eyebrow as he stopped in front of her for a moment.  He smirked this time and it was even nastier than the grin from before.  He reached a large hand to her cheek and snatched the back of her head as he made her come closer.  His face was merely inches from hers and she gasped as she sucked in her breath.  She made her hands fall against his chest to keep him away, but it failed miserably.  His warm breath tickled her cheek and her stomach twisted inside her as amusement played within his eyes.  Every little thing he did seemed to make her freeze and he was able to bend her at his every whim.  This was a complete stranger and yet she felt something so different.  The spell was broken as a sudden coughing noise brought them out of their closeness.  Rei sighed in relief as she turned towards the voice and saw a blonde boy walking towards them.  His cheeks were flushed at walking in on them at such a passionate moment, but he held himself firm.             

"Mr. Chiba…there is an important matter to be dealt with other than meeting Miss Hino here.  Mr. Yuy has asked for your assistance at the studio and then there is the meeting with your associates at the firm later today." The blonde said as he shifted under the man's gaze.  Mamoru glared daggers at the blonde and soon turned back to Rei with a sly smile.  

"Shall we be off?" he asked in a dry tone as he stuffed his hands into his black slacks.  His chin rose into the air and his blue eyes looked skyward as he seemed to be looking at nothing in particular.  She saw him looking at her out of his eye with an evil glint.  Rei glared at him hotly, but a part of her regretted it as she received a deadly glance in her direction.  She moved to pick up her bags, but the blonde youth around her age had already taken a hold of them.  He smiled sweetly at her and she blushed at how cute the two men she had already encountered upon this journey.  

"Welcome Ms. Hino, I am pleased that you have made it alright and I hope your trip was pleasant." His soft, yet deep voice spoke as his eyes sparkled at her.  Rei could only nod her head in response, thinking of her trip to this new country.  Her ticket had allowed her to ride in first class and everything had made her look at things differently.  She had been treated like a princess and she felt slightly good about this trip that she was going to be on.  She would only have to spend a month or two here and then she would be back in Japan at the temple.  Her thoughts suddenly dulled as her thoughts turned back to what her grandfather had said about her father.  If she would encounter him at all anywhere down this trip she knew things wouldn't be like what she was experiencing now; happiness and carefree like her thoughts were with this man.  

"Thank you very much.  Um…" she trailed off, not knowing exactly what the name of her new friend.  The man bowed his head slightly and a flush came to her cheeks.  

"My name is Quatre Winner, but you can just call me Quatre." He said as he placed the bags into the trunk.  It was a wonder to her that he was able to carry such heavy bags, especially with his petite looking figure.  He extended his hand to shake hers and she extended her awkwardly as he took hers into his.  They shook for a few moments before pulling away and smiling at one another.  A hand suddenly intruded their little scene with a coughing noise.  Quatre sweatdropped and stepped aside as a tall blonde woman emerged from the car.  She stood defiantly in front of Quatre and looked at Rei menacingly, but soon the look grew into a light and airy aura.  She embraced Rei in a heartfelt embrace and then let her go as she began to babble about things Rei couldn't understand.  She looked over at Quatre for guidance and Minako blushed as she whispered under her breath.  She began once again, but this time the words came out in slightly jumbled Japanese.  

"I am Minako Aino, another associate with Mr. Chiba, your fiancé.  I am sorry he had to leave on such short notice, but things came up at the firm and the studio.  If you would please get into the limo we will escort you to his residence and to meet your father." Minako said a little unsteadily as she saw the fire blaze in Rei's eyes at the mention of the man.  She smiled and attached her arm to Rei's as she pulled the quiet girl into the car along with her.  Rei could only follow the hyperactive girl as Quatre soon followed in behind her.  She could see the boy blushing as the girl named Minako began speaking to him in that foreign language.  Her thoughts drifted back to the man she had met before, Mamoru Chiba.  Was she really to only have a few months before she made her decision to marry him or not?  Her cheeks flushed at the thought of his blue eyes upon her, locking her very soul within his grasp as if he were some powerful being.  '_Why have I never felt like this before…I knew I thought I was in love with Kaido, but this feels so life like.  I felt it in my heart…and I know deep down inside it was almost like I wanted him to kiss me.  Then again…there is something missing.'_ She thought as she watched the scenery around her unfold.  Immediately she found herself wishing she were home with her grandfather in the temple.  She was excited about coming to a new country, but something told her this trip wouldn't go as planned.  

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Rei simply plopped down onto her bed as she sighed in relief and slight anger.  She had just come back from a tour of the mansion and had been informed that her father had been called in for a meeting.  

"Yeah right, more like forgetting his daughter like a dumbass." She mumbled to herself as she rolled onto her back.  She turned her head to the side and suddenly stared at herself in the mirror of her vanity table.  She frowned a bit and sat up in her bed, staring a little closer to herself then suddenly regretting she did.  '_I always act like I am so pretty and high against others…but I never noticed how ugly I am.  This is why Kaido left me for that other woman…she was so beautiful and when I saw them together she seemed to glow with natural beauty.  Whenever I hear how lovely I am, I am called exotic or a dark beauty, but what does that really mean?  I have kept the same look to myself for years now and maybe it is time I made a change?' _she thought as she suddenly found the idea ridiculous.  She suddenly jumped as she heard slight sounds coming from the hallway.  They were sounds of hushed lovers not wanting to be noticed, but their passion couldn't contain their emotions.  Rei slowly turned the knob on the door and peaked through the half slit in the side as she pushed it open.  Her eyes widened as she saw a tall figure pressing a small figure against the wall, the couple engrossed in one another that they didn't notice the door to Rei's room creak open.  Rei looked on with soft eyes as masculine fingers trailed over a delicate cheek as eyes met in silent promising of love.  Feminine hands grasped at the strong hand touching her face and pressed rosy lips to the palm.  Smiles graced both faces softly and their lips sealed the emotions hidden within.  Rei's heart ached at the sight and she turned away and shut the door forgetting they were out there.  Her mind kept playing the gentle caresses in her mind and she fell to her knees.  Love had never been kind to her, so why should it now?  How could she possibly find love in a man that she would only know for a few weeks?  

TBC…

Ch. 2~ Meetings    


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